Match report courtesy of Kevin Woodham

Kidderminster kicked off and the ball went dead in the in goal area, from the resultant scrum on the halfway line the powerful and well drilled Whitchurch side took early control of this facet of the game. Some excellent defensive play by KC’s kept the visitors at bay until the 13th minute when a collapsed scrum allowed Whitchurch to take the lead with a penalty kick. In spite of the limited and disjointed scrum possession Kidderminster competed well in the loose and line out and their tackling was courageous and determined, however with eight minutes of the half remaining and after a series of scrum infringements, Whitchurch scored a pushover try to end the half leading 0-8.

For the first ten minutes of the second half KC’s were again under immense pressure at scrum time, once again some heroic defensive play resulted in KC’s overturning possession in their favour, sadly in trying to relieve their line the ball was knocked forward, from the scrum Whitchurch drove over the line for a try increasing their lead to 0-15. Soon after they won a ball against the head, spread the ball left and a missed tackle in midfield resulted in a converted try being scored and the Whitchurch lead increased to 0-22, they pushed further ahead with a similar try to lead 0-27 with 20 minutes to go. The next 10 minutes proved to be KC’s best period of play causing Whitchurch some discomfort with a succession of quickly taken penalties only to be held up just short of the try line on two occasions, however this hard work was all undone when a possible scoring pass was intercepted and the Whitchurch winger raced the length of the field to score a try which was converted. The final score being 0-34.

Although this is a further defeat the players should be congratulated for their effort and endeavour, this was always going to be a tough season, we have a small squad which has been put under great pressure by players leaving, retiring and a glut of serious injuries. However the general attitude of both the players and the coaching staff is much appreciated by those of us who can only spectate.